Despite extending LTE network, Orange reports flat revenue
French mobile operator Orange reached 8 million LTE subscribers at the end of 2015, posting 1.4 million net additions during the last quarter of the year, the company said in its earnings statement. Overall mobile connections in France totaled 28.42 million at year end compared to 27.08 million at the end of 2014.
The company’s LTE network was said to have reached 80% of the French population by the end of the quarter, using spectrum in the 800 MHz and 2.6 GHz bands.
LTE connections also grew in Orange’s other European service areas, with 5.1 million total customers in Spain; 2.04 million customers in Poland and 1 million customers in Belgium and Luxembourg. Orange said at year end, LTE coverage reached 85% of the population in Spain, 84% in Poland, 99% in Belgium, 72% in Romania, 65% in Slovakia and 84% in Moldova. In the Middle East and Africa, Orange has deployed LTE in Botswana, Jordan, Morocco, Mauritius, Cameroon and Guinea-Bissau
“This growth is the result of a very strong commercial performance, particularly in very high-speed broadband and our continued efforts to control costs. The number of 4G customers, which reached 18 million, has doubled in a year and we have 1.9 million fiber customers, three-times more than at the end of 2014,” Orange Group Chairman and CEO Stéphane Richard said. “We also continued to develop our international presence during 2015, in line with our strategy. In Europe, our focus remains on fixed-mobile convergence, as in Spain where the integration of Jazztel has exceeded our objectives and has enabled us to create the most dynamic convergent operator in the market.”
Richard also said the Africa and Middle East region represents a growth area for Orange. At the end of last year, the telco had 110 million mobile customers in Africa and the Middle East, up 4.1% year-over-year. Taking into account Orange’s global operations, mobile customers reached 201.2 million at the end of December, climbing 3.2% compared to the year-ago period.
The telco’s quarterly revenues reached 10.39 billion euros ($11.58 billion), almost flat versus the same period the previous year. In France, Orange’s revenues totaled 4.86 billion euros in the quarter. Total capital expenses for Q4 amounted to 2.25 billion euros, which accounted for 21.7% of revenues.
Last month, Orange started negotiations to acquire compatriot telecoms operator Bouygues Telecom. “These discussions are ongoing and require at least several weeks before any decision is taken,” Orange said.
Bouygues Telecom’s LTE network currently covers approximately 72% of the French population. Bouygues launched LTE services in 2013 using spectrum in the 800 MHz, 1800 MHz and 2.6 GHz bands.
